


The Boy With The Ocean Blue Eyes

by Camphalfgalra



Category: Voltron:Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternative Universe - High School, F/M, M/M, Pining Keith (Voltron), Pining Lance (Voltron), Pining Pidge (Voltron), musician au, pianist keith, violinist lance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-22
Updated: 2018-04-24
Packaged: 2018-12-05 14:17:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,041
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11579781
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Camphalfgalra/pseuds/Camphalfgalra
Summary: At the age of 12, Keith lost his parents and his passion for playing music on the piano, vowing that he would never play again. That changed five years later during his senior year when he bumped into his 'rival' at Altea High, Lance McClain. But when he makes a request, it's one that changes Keith's world forever."You want me to do WHAT?!"





	1. Of Back Stories and Blue Eyes

Keith had never been a very open person.

He preferred the solitude of his room over the noisy school halls and music halls that he was forced to see practically daily. 

His refuge was his music, which he started to play at the young age of eight. The small, delicate hands of his mother let out beautiful sounds as she taught him how to play the piano, explaining the difference between forte and pianissimo. 

He would watch her hands work their magic on the piano, her face peaceful as she would play what was written on the page. She saw great potential in her son; he was a very gifted boy.  
She taught him the beauty of music, how to appreciate it and how it was life changing. As he grew older and learned more complicated songs, he was sent to various piano competitions by his mother and father, who were both insanely proud of him. His older brother Shiro was also proud of Keith, proud that Keith would one day grow to be a big musician like he was aiming for. 

When he wasn't at school or at competitions, Keith spent time at home just playing for fun and not for anyone other than himself. He got lost in the music, time flying by when he played. 

Occasionally his mother, father or even Shiro would pop their heads in to listen and bring him snacks and food so he wouldn't forget to feed himself, all three amazed at how quickly Keith was growing musically wise. 

It was all well...that is, until eight years ago.  
Eight years ago, Keith, Shiro and his parents were driving back from another successful competition when everything suddenly went downhill for the family of four.

* * *

_It was another sunny day, with them planning on how to celebrate Keith's success at yet another celebration when Keith's mother let out a bloodcurdling scream before the crunching of glass was heard._

_They were hit by a truck on the drivers side, causing Keith's mother to go flying out the car as they slid into a tree and she landed on the dashboard, eyes unmoving as blood slid down the car windshield.Keith had realized in horror that it was coming from his very own mother, his hero._ _Keith's father, Thace, was knocked unconscious after getting impacted by the truck. His figure was slouched over the drivers wheel, his lungs barely moving as he took very shallow breaths. His chest looked weird, as if some of the ribs were misplaced and all crooked. ___

__

_Shiro looked terrible, his forehead had a huge gash on it and his arms looked horrible. They were both mangled, looking as if they were fractured in every place imaginable. He was barely conscious, looking at Keith with half lidded eyes before he succumbed to the deep pits of unconsciousness._

_Keith was the only conscious one, strapped in his seat by the seatbelt that had probably saved his life. All he could do was watch his family die right in front of him, letting out an agonizing scream of pain. He heard people rushing to find them but he too, succumbed to the unconsciousness._

* * *

After the accident, Keith stopped playing the piano for what was supposed to be 'a short while.' The break was everything but short, instead lasting for about four years before he was forced into a music program in high school by none other than Shiro. 

Shiro, who was eight years older than Keith, was now a teacher for younger musicians. He was rarely around anymore though, his job having have forced him to relocate to Ohio. When he came to visit he brought Allura, his wife who was also in the music industry, but as a conductor. Best of her generation, according to all the local music tabloids. Keith decided that it was a shame that she and Shiro had moved to Ohio, New York was bound to give them more opportunities than where they were now. 

His father was also barely home, his job taking him across the entire country since he was a business man. He occasionally spoke to Keith, only asking him the basic questions and no more. It was as if he was trying to forget him. 

Keith couldn't blame the man, he was the spitting image of his mother. It must be hard looking at your son that looks so much like your wife without starting to shed tears. 

He wasn't alone though, he had his two best friends. Their names were Hunk and Katie, the duo having have stuck with him for a good while. He had known Katie longer though, and the two had formed a close bond that only they could understand. 

The two stuck with him all throughout middle school and as they entered their first year of high school they too had told him that he was better off in the music wing, Pidge and Hunk staying in the science and engineering wings.  
They had about three classes together, and they always sat together in a small group. 

While Keith hadn't been enthusiastic at all about playing the piano again, he had to unless he wanted to witness the demon known as Katie Holt kick his ass into the music room. 

For the next two years, he felt somewhat calm in the music room but he never overcame his fear of playing the piano and the sorrow that it brought to mind. 

Every time he touched a piano key, it let out such a rich, melodious sound that would leave the others jealous but his heart aching at remembering that it was his mother who taught him how to play. 

He played, but it was almost as if he was just moving his arms mechanically and just reading what was on the sheet. His music no longer held that string of emotion that it had before, he was losing himself as he played. The tone was beautiful, but at the same time, it was as if it was just a flat line with no bumps at all. 

At one point he stopped being able to hear the notes and he had freaked out, both Hunk and Pidge having to calm him down as he had curled up in a ball and started to hyperventilate. 

_"You're better than this Keith! One setback isn't going to stop you from playing, so go play or I swear-!"_

He had never fully recovered from that experience, and he could feel his mothers presence all around him as he played. He could hear her voice telling him that he had pressed the wrong key, he could hear her voice even though it was so faint and seemed so strained. 

The piano only brought sorrow to him, and it was no longer soulful. It was tragic, really. Many people would whisper about him; the legend Keith Kogane who had travelled abroad at the age of 8 to win awards in Europe as a piano player. How his music had changed, and how hopeless he was. How he was never going to have a chance to win anymore awards. 

He didn't care though, responding to the murmurs by slipping his earbuds into his ears and walking through the halls to get to his next class. 

Junior year ended, and that's when Shiro and Allura returned to New York, although this time it was permanent. They had each found jobs in New York, both rising in fame as people took more and more notice in their talent; Allura's conducting and Shiro's cello playing brought in a lot of attention where they were teaching. Shiro was especially growing in fame due to him playing cello and inspiring other amputees to play musical instruments. 

Shiro had encouraged Keith to peruse a music scholarship and that's why Keith found himself sitting in the music classroom when he could've been hanging out at his house, on his couch while watching tv. 

He groaned frustratedly, not touching the keys. "I don't get why Shiro doesn't understand that I can't play!"

Pidge shrugged, tossing her hat up in the air and catching it. "Look, if Shiro wants you to pursue this music scholarship then you know he means well even if it seems like he's trying to boss you around."

Hunk nodded, shooting Keith a reassuring smile. "Yeah, he's your brother and he's getting to be so popular too! He knows what he's talking about."

He sheepishly smiled and rubbed his neck nervously as he saw Keith's eyes, which seemed to be glaring holes through his soul. He then proceeded to shrug, still smiling while Pidge snorted as she saw Keith clench his fists and stick them stiffly at his sides

"My brother is an ass who doesn't know what it's like to be me."

"Keith, you sound so emo."

"Pidge, make one more emo joke and I'm telling on you. You signed up for soccer for a reason. You need it for you to be able to graduate."

Said girl just scoffed as if Keith's idea was the most hilarious thing that she had heard all week. "Keith, we both know that they won't care if I show up because I'm shit at playing sports. Besides, who says I need to go to college?"

Hunk gave her a flat look, pulling out his hand from his bag to count. "Let's see, Matt, your parents, your grandparents, me, Keith, the school board, Principal Coran, all your teachers, the colleges that all want you...should I say more?"

Pidge rolled her eyes, leaning against the wall. "You are such a sassy boy, it's scary how you hide that. Let me tell you something, Hunk. Sports, especially soccer, are a waste of my time. I don't know why they didn't let me play volleyball, I'd be great at hitting people with a ball!" She threw her arms up exasperatedly, causing Keith to raise a brow. 

"Pidge, the objective of soccer isn't to kick people with a ball intentionally."

"It's not my fault that they can't kick the ball."

Hunk sighed, face palming while Keith and Pidge continued bickering. They only stopped when a whistle rang through the air, Iverson blowing his whistle many times. 

"KATHERINE HOLT YOU BEST GET DOWN HERE, YOU ARE NOT MISSING YOUR FIRST DAY!"

Pidge groaned loudly, peeling herself off the wall while pulling Keith's hat off the piano and placing it over her head as she trudged towards the door. She muttered something that sounded suspiciously like 'whore' under her breath, Keith snickering in amusement as Hunk only sighed. 

"Keith, when I come back you better be playing that piano or so help me!" She then started running down the stairs, letting out a string of curses when she tripped down one stair. 

Keith's amusement faded as he stared at the piano, Hunk noticing and frowning. A concerned look took over his features, his brows coming together to form a crease in his forehead. "Are you okay?"

Keith gave him a small smile before sighing and letting it drop, instead just eyeing the piano with his arms crossed and a pout on his face. "I just don't know if I can play, Hunk. My inspiration is gone, I suck at playing."

"That's not true,-"

"Yes it is!" Keith threw his hands up in the air, now angry, before slamming them on the lockers lined up against the wall. He stared defeatedly at the lockers, closing his eyes and inhaling deeply. 

"Everyone here whispers, Hunk. They whisper about how I was such a good player, about how I was sure to get into a top music school. How I _was._ Now? Now all everyone does is pity me and whisper about how my music is shit. I suck at playing."

He sighed and turned around, sliding down the lockers with a tired expression on his face. Hunk frowned before standing over him and offering a hand, Keith accepting it grudgingly and dusting his shirt off. 

Hunk stared at Keith, the other boy just staring at the floor with his downcast eyes. 

He sighed before walking towards Keith, pulling him down to sit on the piano stool. 

"Listen man, you are you. You know how to play, and it may be hard, but you can't keep dwelling on the past. You can't keep imagining that your mom is always there watching you, it's not healthy. You can do this." He gave him an encouraging smile and Keith finally looked up, a small smile smile on his features. 

"Thanks."

Hunk patted him on the back, Keith chuckling before turning to face the piano. With a deep inhale, he pressed the all too familiar keys and breathed out, the piano letting out a melodious sound. Not as good as he used to play, in his opinion, but it was something. 

Before he could hit another key, there was a loud crashing sound as something came through the window of the music room. Hunk immediately fell to his knees and covered his head, Keith only staring dumbly at the object coming towards him before putting his arm up to protect himself. 

As expected, it hit his arm and he only raised a brow. "Ow." 

As he picked up the object, a smile spread on his features before he burst out laughing. 

Hunk  peeked up from between the crevices of his hands, finally letting his hands fall from his face as he stood up. "Is that a soccer ball?"

"HOLT, YOU ARE STAYING AFTER PRACTICE AND PATCHING UP THAT WINDOW!"

"MOTHERFUCKER!"

Hunk looked aghast at her use of language while Keith only laughed even harder, clutching his stomach and wiping the tears that had managed to escape his eyes. 

"Typical Pidge, breaking the window with her soccer ball."

Hunk inspected the window, looking down at the court and then at the gaping hole in the window. "The question is, how did she manage to kick it in here? "

Keith shrugged, kneeling down to inspect the glass. "She has good aim."

Hunk gasped and smacked his hand away, glaring at Keith who just blinked blankly. 

"What?"

"Picking up glass with your hand is a violation to your pianist hands! You're going to cut your fingers, and then what is Shiro going to say?"

"He's going to say, 'Keith! You are so irresponsible, what would you do without me?' as he bandages my hands." He gave Hunk a flat look, the boy looking to the side before taking a broom out of the closet and sweeping the glass towards the corner. 

"Yeah well, what would Pidge say?"

At the mention of her name his face changed from that of one who was unamused to a horrified look, eyes widening as he rapidly stood up straight and took five gigantic steps away from the glass. 

Hunk smirked as he stood up, crossing his arms. "Thought so. Anyways, I'm going to sit here and try to read even though I'm most likely going to fall asleep. You better be playing the piano!" 

Keith groaned and ran a hand through his hair, frowning once again as he looked at the piano. It mocked him, just sitting there with its alluring keys. 

Nope. He was not going to play anytime soon. Instead he plugged his earbuds into his ears, pulling out blank sheet music and pressed 'play' on his playlist.

* * *

Pidge entered the music room exhausted, running a hand through her wet hair. Soccer, she decided, was her biggest enemy. She expected to see Keith playing, but instead she found him hunched over a desk in the music room with his earbuds in and Hunk drooling into his book. 

With an unamused look she entered the room, glancing at the window and wincing at the size of the hole. They were going to need a lot of cardboard. 

She walked over towards Hunk and closed his book loud enough so he could hear, smirking when his head shot yo and he wildly looked around. Keith was still closed off to the world as he continued to write, Pidge scowling before grabbing the soccer ball that she had kicked through the window and chucking it at his head. 

Keith gasped and fell forward, throwing the top of his body into the desk before turning around to face a Pidge with a smug look on her face.  
"Hey!"

Keith only scowled at her, standing and crossing his arms with his papers still clutched in his hand. "What the hell Pidge? You could've given me a concussion!"

"The third one." 

Pidge shot Hunk a glare while Keith nodded in agreement, the girl just shrugging and sitting on the desk. "Man up Keith."

She threw the volleyball up in the air, smirking when both Keith and Hunk flinched. "You two are such babies. Except Keith is that baby that never smiled and Hunk is the baby that is literally a ray of sunshine."

Hunk smiled at that while Keith just continued to pout. "I'm not emo, Pidge."

"And I'm six feet tall. Don't lie to yourself, Keith. Even Shiro agrees."

"Betrayed by my own brother once again."

Hunk walked over to Pidge, sitting in the chair that Keith had previously been sitting in. "How was practice?"

Pidge's smirk immediately faded as her face took on a look of disgust. "Ugh, Iverson as a coach is my worst nightmare. It makes me want to punch his other eye shut so all he can do is squint instead of single me out every time we go out on the field. Keith, can we trade places? Can I just play piano while you play soccer?"

Keith shot her an unimpressed look before shaking his head. "No, wasn't it you who said I needed to 'practice' anyways?" He shot her a smug look as her hopeful look fell and was replaced by a frown. 

"Keith, you are lucky that I care about your education and future."

"Yeah, I think you care about it more than he does!"

The two chuckled, leaving Keith to pout and state at the window. "Pidge, you have to fix the hole in the window. I'm not doing it for you this time."

She gasped indignantly, faking hurt by placing a hand on her chest. "I'm wounded!"

Hunk chuckled before noticing a person standing coming down the hall, carrying something in their hands. 

"Uh, guys? We might have company."

Keith and Pidge stopped talking to look at him with confused faces before a guy stepped in the doorway, one hand on his hip and the other clutching something behind his back with a sports bag at hanging off his side. 

Keith looked at his face and felt his world stop as he stared into the strangers eyes, intoxicated by their color. _Those ocean blue eyes._  
He had tan skin, obviously of Spanish decent with brown hair. His jeans clung onto his thighs, his shirt the only loose thing on him. 

The stranger looked at him, as if he was analyzing him before a lightbulb went off in his head. "You're Keith Kogane!"

Keith exchanged a look with Pidge before stepping up. "Yeah?"

"Why do you have a mullet? This isn't the 80's, dude."

Keith stopped blushing and scowled, Pidge cackling with laughter as Hunk just chuckled in amusement. That settled it. No matter how attractive how this guy was, he was not going to try and be friends with him. Ever.


	2. You Don't Know Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance and Keith talk to each other and end up arguing over his music career. Pidge and Hunk encourage Keith into facing one of his greatest fears, and an interesting conversation over love comes up between him and his best friend.

Lance was prepared for many things.

Emergency hairbrush to tame his hair after it got messed up in the wind? Check. Emergency contacts? Also check. Emergency jeans in his locker in case the ones he was wearing ripped? Also check. Double check, actually. He couldn't be too prepared. Needless to say, Lance was prepared for many things, be it musical or personal.

What he wasn't prepared for was meeting Keith Kogane, the pianist prodigy that he had deemed as his rival ever since he had first heard him play because there was no way that a person could play so well. _Especially_ at the young age of eight, which was when Lance had first heard him perform live, despite knowing that Keith had started playing when he was five.

The memory was still fresh in his mind, as if it had only happened yesterday. He could feel how Keith played with raw emotions, his music telling a story as he went from forte to pianissimo in a matter of seconds. How he knew exactly how hard to hit the keys to produce such beautiful sounds Lance didn't know, but Keith had always managed to make even his worst performances sound like the best thing he'd ever heard.

Keith's music was beauty, and it was what had inspired Lance to play. Not piano of course, but the violin. He remembered talking animatedly about how cool it was that Keith could play like that with little to no jealousy, his parents looking at each other with that typical knowing look.

When they asked him if they wanted to take piano classes, they were surprised when he refused. Instead, he had looked up at them with those bright blue eyes and had demanded they buy him a violin so he could play that instead. If you asked him now, he would tell you that he chose violin because 'it's better than playing the piano miserably like Keith does' when in reality he had always just wanted to play a duet with Keith.

It was his life long dream, a dream that would soon fade out over the years. When Keith stopped playing after the accident that took his mother, Lance honestly felt like giving up. Music no longer filled him with happiness, but he still played. He played with a hope that Keith would one day return to the piano, the one thing that he had the most passion for.

His prayers were answered when Keith took up the piano again in high school, but something was off. Keith no longer played with passion or any emotion; his music sounded like all the life had been sucked out of it. He was off key and rushed some parts. It was rumored that he couldn't even hear the notes he played, which was supported by the fact that he hit the keys too hard and lagged at some parts, then sped up at some parts.

It brought sadness to his heart, if Lance was being completely honest. His hero, who seemed invincible at the time, had broken down and couldn't be helped. Perhaps that's why Lance felt some sort of anger. Sure, he could play, but it brought anger to him that Keith had just thrown away his shot of being a huge musician when he was so talented while he and other musicians had to work their way up to their fame.

That was probably the reason why he had mixed feelings seeing Keith in person after all those years of worshipping him from afar. Probably also why the first thing that came out of his mouth was an insult.

"Why do you have a mullet? This isn't the 80's, dude."

Upon seeing Keith's indignant look as he lifted his hand to pat his hair, he internally winced. _Great job, Lance. You meet your first hero and the first thing you do is insult him_. He watched Keith self consciously feel his hair while Pidge gave him an 'are you serious' look.

"Dude, did you seriously have to point out that he has a mullet?"

Lance shrugged. "I have a habit of noticing the most ugliest things about a person first."

Keith frowned, eyeing Lance up and down. "Seems that you haven't looked in a mirror lately, because you're-"

"The hottest person to walk the Earth? Oh baby, I know I am," said Lance smugly while shooting finger guns at Keith and winking. Keith frowned, obviously annoyed with Lance.

"How did you get in here, anyway? The school doesn't allow anyone to just enter the school, especially jackasses," said Keith while eyeing Lance up and down. Lance gaped at him, mouth hanging open as fury boiled inside of him.

"You come into _my_ music room and insult me?! I'll have you know that if anyone is trespassing, it's you! I specifically reserved the music room for today after practice!" screeched Lance as he waved his arms around wildly, Hunk looking worriedly at the violin case that was so casually slung over Lance's shoulder and about to fall off.

Pidge rolled her eyes and stood up, standing in between the two arguing males. "Ladies ladies, you're both pretty musicians but you don't have to fight over a music room. It's pretty stupid," she said blandly while giving Keith an intense glare.

Keith continued frowning, standing up and crossing his arms before pointing an accusatory finger at Lance. "You think you can just walk into the music room and take my playing time away from me so easily? The music room is open to everyone who wants to play and I was here first!"

Hunk sighed. "Keith, why don't you just let the guy practice? We've been here for hours and you haven't really made that much progress," he added on hesitantly. Keith pursed his lips while looking at Hunk.

"But I can't just leave the music room in this jackass's incapable hands!"

Lance pouted, glaring at Keith. "I agree with good looking over here. You can't just hog up the music room and stare at the piano the entire time."

Keith continued glaring at him before his eyes widened and he gave Lance a confused look. "How do you know that I play piano?"

Pidge face palmed, shaking her head. "You're hopeless, Keith."

Lance snorted. "You can say that again. Mullet, you're sitting in front of a piano while the lid is open and you have sheet music all over the place. _Piano_ sheet music, might I add."

Keith frowned. "Don't call me mullet." Looking at Lance's violin case, he raised a skeptical brow. "Are we supposed to believe that you play violin? The case looks fake to me."

Pidge rolled her eyes. "Keith, stop being so judgmental about his blue violin case. You literally named your piano at home 'Red.' You also named your cat Red," she added dryly.

Keith shrugged. "I just really like the color red. Besides, you can tell that I actually play. We don't know this guy! For all we know, he could have knives hidden inside his case."

Lance sent Keith an exasperated look. "Dude! I'm not a psychopath! I'm just a guy who wants to rehearse in peace!"

Hunk raised a brow. "Rehearse? You have a performance?"

Lance grinned. "Yes, but before we go into that later. I want to introduce myself formally. Partly because you're cute, and secondly so Mullet over here stops thinking that I'm going to murder him." Grinning flirtatiously, he raised a brow before bowing in front of Hunk and extending a hand.

"The name's Lance. What's yours?"

Hunk laughed, slightly blushing as he took Lance's hand to pull him up. "You don't need to bow. My name's Hunk, by the way."

Lance grinned. "I think I'll just call you cutie pie."

Pidge snorted, shoving his arm with her elbow. "Lance, that's my friend you're ogling. I would like to keep my conversation and mind rated PG - 13, mind you."

Lance raised a skeptical brow. "You? Keeping something PG - 13? That's a funny joke," he said while Pidge rolled her eyes.

"Haha, very funny Lance. Seriously though, you can't just flirt with my buddy Hunk over here and mess with Keith at the same time. Hunk is protective over Keith," she added while flipping her ponytail over her shoulder.

Hunk grinned sheepishly, Lance raising a brow before glancing over at Keith. "So mullet needs to be babied?"

"I do not need to be babied, jackass."

"Ooh, Mullet's using those bad words again! Tsk Tsk."

Keith frowned, looking to the side at Lance's violin case. Lance noticed and followed his gaze towards his violin case and a grin formed on his lips.

"Like what you see?"

Keith flushed red and started sputtering out a bunch of nonsense, Pidge sticking her tongue out in disgust.

"Lance, that's disgusting."

"The only disgusting thing here is your cleats," he said while nodding down towards her shoes. Pidge cursed internally, immediately sitting down on a desk to prevent getting more dirt on the ground. Lance grinned satisfactorily before looking back towards Keith, who was just glaring at the window.

"Helloooo? Anybody in here?" He asked, pretending to knock on Keith's skull. Keith frowned, his nostrils flaring as he closed his eyes and a look of annoyance overtook his features.

"Fuck off."

Lance clicked his tongue, shaking his head disapprovingly. "You're such a stick in the mud. I can see why Pidge brought you under her wing; your identities are almost identical."

Pidge threw a scrunchie at Lance's head, Lance simply stepping out of the way. "Screw you, Lance."

"Oh no, you wish." He winked at her, causing her to gag again as she faked to wretch over the side of the desk.

"Okay fine, I'll leave you alone. But seriously, is mullet over here going to ask for me to open my violin case to show him my actual instrument?" He asked no one in particular, Hunk rapidly answering his question.

"Probably."

"Show me your violin," said Keith in a low voice as he eyed the violin case.

"Yeah, he is."

Lance rolled his eyes before sitting down on the floor, placing the case down and opening it to reveal a violin sitting in the middle of it with a bow on the top part of the case. Glancing up, he saw Keith stop glaring and instead an interested look came upon his face.

"Is it hand crafted?"

Lance grinned proudly, nodding in confirmation. "Uh huh. My _bisabuelo_ made it and it's been passed down through our family for years." Upon seeing how Keith's hands were tempted to touch the violin, he rolled his eyes.

"Just because it's a family heirloom doesn't mean that it'll break when you touch it."

Keith blinked before flushing pink and shaking his head, extracting his hand. "Ah, no. I don't play violin."

Pidge looked at Keith with an uninterested look before turning towards Lance with a bored expression. "You _do_ play violin, right?"

Lance grinned proudly. "The best of the best, I'll have you know."

Keith turned his head around, a ghost of a smirk on his face. "Yeah, tell that to the middle schoolers who have more talent than you," he muttered under his breath. Hunk raised a brow and chuckled while Lance scowled.

"Hey! At lest I play, you know," he said snootily while placing his violin back into his case. "And besides, if theres anyone who can be beat by a middle schooler in a competition, it's you, mullet."

Pidge laughed, smirking as she raised a brow. "Are you sure about that? He's Keith Kogane, the world famous pianist who was asked to go study abroad as soon as he graduated high school when he was _nine_. Also-"

"He earned first place at every event he went to since he was five, blah blah yeah I know. I didn't need that recap, dude," said Lance while crossing his arms. "Trust me, all musicians know that. We all know that Keith is perfect in the music world's eyes."

Keith shook his head. "I'm far from perfect."

"That's not what everyone else says. But anyways, can I use the music room or are you going to keep hogging it up? I kinda have a competition to rehearse for," said Lance while raising an expectant brow. Pidge frowned.

"Since when do you have to attend competitions? You've never mentioned that before."

"Since I actually want to get into Julliard, I might as well start competing now, right? I need a good reputation to get in, you know," Lance said while glancing over at Keith. "Ask him. I'm sure he'd know what I mean."

Keith shrugged. "I haven't been in a competition since a few years ago. I don't even know if I want to go to a music school, if I'm being honest," he confessed while scratching his neck. Lance frowned.

"What do you mean?! You're the best pianist the world has ever seen, and you don't even want to go to a music school that would accept you in a heartbeat? You have what every musician wishes they had, and you're taking it for granted!" Lance shouted, waving his arms in the air wildly. "Do you have any idea of how many of us lower ranking musicians wish we were in your spot?!"

"Can't say I do," Keith replied, crossing the room and picking up his bag from its place on the chair. "Look, I'm sorry if you're having issues getting into an all music college, but screaming at me about taking my skills for granted is just making me dislike you even more."

Pidge rolled her eyes. "Yeesh, all this music stuff is driving me crazy. How do you handle it?" She asked Hunk, the larger boy only shrugging in response.

"I have no idea."

"You seriously expect me to drop it just like that?"

"I expect you to leave me alone," Keith hissed, grabbing his sheet music. "I don't need some _newbie_ telling me what I should do for my future."

Lance gasped. "I am not a newbie! I'll have you know that I've been playing since I was eight, and even though I might not be as famous as you or whatever, I take pride in my playing! I'm taking every offer that comes my way, unlike you," he said defensively, sticking a finger in Keith's chest. "You're so–!"

"Infuriating? I think that you're only talking about yourself," Keith responded, pushing Lance out of his way, making his way towards the exit. "I don't really care what anyone thinks about me not taking my chances in the music industry. You don't know me, so stop pretending like you can make my decisions, because you don't know half of the shit I've had to go through!" He quickly stormed out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him as his footsteps faded away. 

As soon as Pidge was sure that Keith was gone, she immediately ran towards Lance and twisted his ear _hard_. The boy emitted a painful yelp, attempting to swat her hand away, but to no avail.

"Pidge, what the hell?!"

"Keep your stupid words away from my boy!" She hissed, twisting his ear even harder. "Can't you go one day without arguing with someone?"

"Oh I can, but this is Keith!"

"So?! You two are literally arguing over _music_. Music is just music!"

Lance gasped in disbelief. "How dare you!"

Hunk sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose with two fingers. "Pidge, can you leave the poor guy alone? He doesn't know–"

Pidge glared at him, sticking her hand out and making a clawing motion. "One more word and you are getting your ears pinched too."

"Never mind, chew him out all you want."

Lance finally managed to yank his ear out of Pidge's grasp, launching himself about a foot away from her. "You are a demon."

She snorted. "Tell me something I don't know." She narrowed her eyes, walking slowly towards him. "Why the hell are you trying to get on Keith's nerves? He's sensitive about music, you know! Literally everybody that goes to this school knows better than to talk about music with him!"

"I don't know if you remember, but this is my first year here," Lance replied snootily, crossing his arms over his chest. "I didn't even know the guy was at this school until a few minutes ago!"

"Yeah, but if you're in the music industry like you claim to be, then why don't you know about his feelings about music?" She questioned suspiciously, her lips forming a frown. "Its not like you've been living under a rock!"

"Well I'm sorry!" Lance uncrossed his arms and put his hands on his hips. "In my defense, I have a valid point. He has so much potential but takes takes it for granted and doesn't take advantage of the skills he has!"

"Keith is Keith, and nobody can change how he feels about music." Pidge picked her sports bag off the table, heading towards the exit. She paused in the doorframe, turning to look at Lance with small frown. "I like you, Lance, but if you bother Keith again then don't be surprised when something bad happens to you. Stop bothering him and we won't have a problem." She ran out of the room, determined to find Keith.

Lance only looked after her with an perplexed expression, turning to look at Hunk. "Are they a thing or...?"

"Nah. They're just best friends." Hunk shrugged. "Very protective friends, might I add."

Lance scoffed. "Yeah, I can tell." He shook his head and grinned at Hunk, flirtatiously raising his brows. "Well, if you're interested, I was wondering if you'd like to come to a competition of mine this Saturday. You know, just to get to know each other." He winked, causing the other boy to chuckle.

"I'll talk to the others about it, although I'm pretty sure that I'll be able to make it." Quickly glancing towards the door, he sent lance a sheepish smile. "I've gotta go catch up with Pidge and Keith, but uh, it was nice meeting you!" 

"Right back at you," Lance called out, watching as Hunk sprinted out of the room and down the hall. He put a finger up to his chin, averting his gaze to the piano that Keith had previously been using.

Keith was...something else, he decided, taking his violin out of its case and placing his own sheet music on the stray stand in the corner of the room. He began to tune his instrument, focusing on his music while Keith infiltrated his thoughts. _He's special_ , Lance mused.

Something special indeed.

* * *

Pidge made her way out of the school and sighed in relief, finding Keith leaning against one of the cherry blossom trees outside of the school. She quickly sprinted down the stairs, making her way towards him with a small, crooked smile.

"I finally caught up to you."

"So I see," he mused aloud in amusement, quirking a brow as he looked down at her. "What took you so long? I thought that you would've just punched the guy and walked out right after."

"Yeah well, I had to set him in his place," she huffed, pretending to dust off her shirt nonchalantly. "Can't have my best bud being annoyed by some idiot's comments."

Keith chuckled. "Thanks. I appreciate it." Looking up, he aimed his attention towards the front entrance, where Hunk was making his way towards them. "What held him up?"

Pidge shrugged. "The whole reason I know Lance is because he keeps asking me about 'that cute guy in our English class.'" She stuck her tongue out in disgust, shaking her head. "My guess is that he either asked Hunk out or he held him up by trying to rant about you."

Keith scoffed. "This guy is a pain in the ass."

"That's why you're not the one he took romantic interest in," she replied, crossing her arms and averting her gaze towards Hunk. "Hunk isn't a pain in the ass, unlike you."

Keith gaped at her, sticking up an indignant finger. "Hey–!"

"Sorry I'm late guys," Hunk wheezed, trying to catch his breath as he came to a stop in front of them. "Lance was just asking me if I wanted to go to his competition on Saturday."

"You told him no, right?" Keith questioned, crossing his arms.

"Actually, I told him that we would think about it," Hunk admitted sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Come on, Keith! It's be rude not to show up."

"Well, then I guess there's only one thing I can say." He stood up straight, flashing Hunk a peace sign. "Have fun." He turned around and walked down the sidewalk, Pidge sending Hunk an unimpressed look.

"Did you really think that he would just accept the invitation just like that?"

"It was worth a try."

She only laughed and followed Keith, catching up to him and looping their arms together. "Come on, don't be like that. I dislike the guy as much as you do, but Hunk has a point. It would be pretty rude to not show up when we were invited by Lance himself."

Keith groaned. "But I don't want to have anything to do with him!" He whined childishly.

"Look, I'm going and I'm taking you with me, even if that means that I have to drag you the entire way." Pidge jabbed him in the sides jokingly, the poor boy only wincing in response. "Besides, it's not like it's a date. It's more like...doing an activity together. If it was a date, you'd be okay because he's interested in Hunk, not you."

Keith only frowned, averting his gaze to the ice cream parlor that was up ahead. "Want ice cream?"

"I'd love some, but I have to be home in a half hour," Hunk replied, finally catching up to the two. "Me and some cousins are heading over to the movies for one of their birthday's. I forget which one, though."

"You only have three cousins," Keith said in disbelief. "How do you forget their birthday's?"

"I may be a genius, but that doesn't mean that I'm a genius with birthday's." 

Once they crossed the street, Keith walked inside the parlor and ordered them each ice cream cones, leaving Hunk and Pidge alone to talk about Lance.

"You think he likes me?"

"I mean, it's not like he invited you specifically to his competition or whatever," Pidge teased, a grin forming on her face. "If I didn't know better, I'd say that he's trying to serenade you."

"Shut up." Hunk laughed, glancing up at Keith, who was waiting for the third ice cream cone. "I kinda thought that he was just there for Keith though. He seems to know a lot about him."

Pidge snorted, pulling out her phone and typing in Keith's name on google. When the results showed up, she shoved her phone into Hunk's face. "Dude, of course he knows about Keith! He's a musician like him, and Keith's face is all over the internet, if you don't remember. See?"

Hunk nodded, pushing her hand out of his face. "Yeah yeah, I see what you're talking about. I just...have a feeling, you know?"

"That's called being in denial that he's head over heels for you, and not Keith." Pidge shrugged, averting her gaze to Keith's advancing form. "Besides, Lance only has eyes for you. Keith is more like friend A, or friend K because his name starts with a K."

"Are you talking about me?" Keith asked as he joined them, giving them each their ice cream cones. "I know that I'm pretty, but that doesn't mean that you can just talk about me whenever you want to," he joked, quirking his lips. 

Pidge gagged, looking at Keith wearily. "Eugh. You sound just as bad as Lance when he acts like he was carved by the gods themselves."

"We don't speak of the name here," Keith said indifferently, making his way down the street with Pidge and Hunk following him. "It's bad enough that I had to interact with that jackass."

"Geez, it's like you flat out hate this poor guy." Hunk shook his head. "I get that you don't like him, but you don't need to call him a jackass every time you see him or hear his name."

"You've done it now, Keith," Pidge said woefully. "You've made him curse!"

"It's nothing new though," Keith mumbled, rolling his eyes. "Back to your question, Hunk. I will call the jackass a jackass as many times as I want to, and nobody can stop me."

"Well mister unstoppable, that just makes you a jackass as well." Pidge licked her ice cream, glancing at Keith out of the corner of her eye. "Can't have you being a hypocrite now, can we?"

Keith only huffed in annoyance, taking a bite out of his cone. "I'm not being a hypocrite," he managed to say through bites. "Besides, he really is annoying. Do I have to go? All I'm going to do is fall asleep."

"Don't be rude," Hunk chastised. "He's a nice guy, so don't make him run away from us. We could use another friend that isn't one of us."

"Over my dead body."

Pidge only sighed. "Look, we're all going to his competition, okay? I don't care if you don't want to go, so quit whining like an old lady and accept it."

The three stopped at Hunk's street corner, the boy smiling. "Thanks for the ice cream, Keith."

"Yeah, no problem," Keith said offhandedly.

Hunk only shook his head. "The guy doesn't know what happened with you, okay? He's bound to grow up and learn to respect you eventually." He waved at both Keith and Pidge, walking down his street.

Keith only rolled his eyes, pouting. "He's bound to grow up and learn to respect you my ass."

"Come on, broody, we have to be home before my mom thinks we were kidnapped or something."

Keith grudgingly followed her, glaring at his shoes. "I don't get why we have to go."

"Because it's a chance for Hunk to go on a date and for you to go to a music hall again." Pidge tugged on the strap of her sports bag, grunting as she shifted it on her shoulder. "You haven't been to one since Shiro was here two years ago."

"I don't like going there. It brings back too many memories, and you know how much I hate those."

Pidge sighed, her ponytail falling to the side as she cocked her head to the side. "I know, but I kinda miss seeing one of those concerts in the flesh, don't you?"

"I can just listen to them on YouTube, it's not a big deal."

"Yeah, but I know you miss hearing a performance in the flesh just as much as Shiro misses living with you." She put a hand on his arm, smiling encouragingly. "Just this once, okay? You don't have to play, so don't worry so much about going. We're just going as moral support for Hunk."

Keith snorted softly. "I thought you said you were going because you wanted to see a performance in the flesh."

"That too, but I could do that any day."

Keith sighed, looking at her wearily. "Are you sure that we're only going for moral support and that this isn't another one of your plans to get me to play again?"

"I'm almost a hundred percent positive," she confirmed with a nod of her head. "Who knows? Maybe Lance serenading Hunk is going to make them fall in love."

Keith gagged in disgust. "Ugh, no talking about love. When people say that you can fall in love at first sight, they're lying. Love at first sight doesn't exist. Music isn't going to make them fall in love."

Pidge glanced up at him in confusion. "Woah there, Keith. It was just a joke."

"I know, but I'm just saying. Music can't make people fall in love with them, no matter how good they play."

"But your music made me happy before," she mumbled under her breath.

"What?"

"Nothing. I just said that you have a huge fanbase because of your music. I think that's proof enough that musicians can get people to fall in love with them with how they play."

Keith scoffed. "It's bullshit."

Pidge shook her head. "Like I said, I was joking." She snorted. "But seriously, Lance has a thing for Hunk, and that's obvious. You don't have to worry about him trying to serenade you," she joked. "It's not like he can get you to fall in love with him."

Keith only shrugged, running a hand through his hair. "I'm staying single for the rest of my life, mind you."

"Stop that!" Pidge stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, a small frown taking over her features. "You're sixteen years old, and there's no sparkle of love in your eyes!"

"My eyes are dark, I don't think they're going to sparkle much."

"You know what I mean!" She crossed her arms. "Shay told me that this is the age when a person is more prone to falling in love. When you fall in love, she says, it feels like everything is just right. It's like the world starts looking more...colorful!" She yelled, waving her hands around in air wildly. 

"Well, the world looks pretty dark to me. I think I'll just stick to not falling in love."

Pidge sighed exasperatedly. "But it's love, Keith! You're not getting any younger! Your eyes are supposed to be shining, but they're so dark that it's like I'm looking at death itself!"

"Out of the both of us, I never expected you to be this worried about me falling in love. I thought that I'd be the one worrying about you rejecting boy after boy."

Pidge stuck her tongue out at him. "I don't reject every boy! I've started to like someone else, and this time, I really do feel like I'm falling in love."

"With Lotor?" Keith quirked a brow. "Yeah, good luck with him." Seeing her glare at him in annoyance, he sighed. "Look, I get that you're concerned about my love life, but I have to think about more important things. I don't have time for romance."

Pidge huffed. "Whatever. Just watch; love is going to creep up on you and before you realize, you're going to be head over heels for someone. I just hope that you don't fall for the wrong person."

Keith rolled his eyes, proceeding to walk down the street. "Trust me, I'll be fine without dating for a while. I've lived up until now without dating."

"Ugh."

Keith chuckled, amused by her annoyance. "Pidge, it's not that serious. I'll fall for someone when the time is right, and when the right person comes along." He averted his gaze to the side as images of ocean blue eyes flashed across his mind, images of Lance's eyes. He shook his head, quickly dispelling whatever thought of Lance he had had. "It's just a matter of time."

"Well I sure hope so." 

They walked home the rest of the way in silence, the only noise heard being the rustling of the leaves in the summer breeze. Within ten minutes, they reached the front of Pidge's house, stopping in front of her driveway. 

Keith sent her a crooked smile. "Shiro called last night and asked if I was okay."

Pidge raised a brow. "He does know that we're taking good care of you, right?"

"Yeah, he just tends to worry about me a lot."

Pidge sighed softly, smiling. "He isn't the only one." She shoved him lightly in the shoulder, grinning satisfactorily hearing him groan. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow, egghead." With a wave, she made her way up her driveway, leaving Keith to make his way into his own house.

As soon as he shut the door behind him, he let out a deep sigh. He kicked off his shoes and made his way upstairs to his room, gazing softly at the pictures of his mother on his desk. He dusted them off and flopped onto his bed, throwing an arm over his eyes.

"Home sweet home," he mumbled dryly. He turned to his side and grabbed his phone, scrolling through his playlist and picking a song, letting the music fill the void of his empty house.

His thoughts brought him back to Lance, and he groaned in annoyance. 

"Oh come on!"

He sighed in defeat as he closed his eyes, remembering what Lance had told him.

_"You have what every musician wishes they had, and you're taking it for granted!"_

He shook his head. It's not like he had asked to become popular. Everything that he had played had been for his mother, who took great pride in seeing him develop into a talented musician, and even more pride in seeing how he was following in Shiro's footsteps. His talent only brought back memories of the times before his mother had passed away, memories of how they used to play duets together and memories of how she used to cheer him on when he was finally satisfied with his playing.

It was hard to believe that it had been only been a few years ago. 

Lance was sort of right when he said that Keith was taking his talent for granted. It was true, and even Shiro had told him that on various occasions. He hated how everyone expected him to get into a music school, he hated how everyone expected so much out of him when he couldn't give them anything.

His playing was horrible now. He could sit at the piano all day, but play nothing. Every time he played the notes, he started out fine, but as the song progressed, everything only got worse up until the point where he couldn't hear anything. It was a curse that whatever force above had thrust upon him after the death of his mother, and he couldn't break it, not matter how hard he tried. 

Nobody understood that, though. They all though that he didn't play because he was afraid of setting the bar too high for other less known musicians. He was not that type of guy, and he hated how everyone labeled him as either mentally distressed or over confident in his abilities. All he wanted to do was live in peace without having to see any more concert halls, but then Lance and his violin happened.

Suddenly, he regretted his decision of agreeing to go with Hunk and Pidge to see the other boy compete.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh god I've neglected this for wayyyy too long. I'm so sorry for that, but here's a new chapter that I hope you guys enjoy!

**Author's Note:**

> Gahhhh this is my first klance fanfic! Also, if it seems familiar, it's probably because I based it off of 'Your Lie In April'. Hope you enjoyed the first part!


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